Dare. Dream. Take 'The Walk'

I am grateful for the chance to discover beautiful and amazing stories through movies and one that I am looking forward to is the story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit, who in August 7, 1974 made an unauthorized walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. 

The unauthorized feat, also known as 'the artistic crime of the century' and to which Petit refers to as 'le coup' was 1,350 ft (450 meters) above the ground. Petit used a 450 pound (200 kg) cable and used a custom-made 26-foot (8 meter) long, 55 pound (25 kg) balancing pole. His walk lasted 45 minutes, making eight passes along the wire. All charges for his 'le coup' were dismissed (apparently it's illegal) in exchange for him performing for children in Central Park, Petit was 24. 

“We were not able to shoot between the two towers of the World Trade Center, of course, because, sadly, they don’t exist anymore, but we were able to replicate them in a way that I think is an enormously loving homage to those buildings,” says Joseph Gordon-Levitt, star of the upcoming “The Walk.” Directed by Academy award winner and visual story teller Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Cast Away) the film promises to be a 3D and IMAX visual experience unlike any other. 

Recreating the towers offered production designer Naomi Shohan and visual effects supervisor Kevin Baillie their greatest production challenge on “The Walk.” Ultimately, their work is a combination of an extremely large stage set and months of digital recreation.

“When I first heard this story, I thought, ‘My God, this is a movie that A: should be made under any circumstance, and B: should be absolutely presented in 3D,” explains Zemeckis. “When you watch a wire walker, you always have to watch by looking up at him. You never get the perspective of what’s it like to be on the wire. Our film will follow Petit’s story but will ultimately put you on the wire, walking with Philippe, and by presenting it in 3D, it is going to be spectacular and very emotional.”

Spectacular, emotional – and exciting, with a driving plot of near-misses and almost-catastrophes as Petit and his ragtag team pull off the impossible. “I love the idea of a guy – a performance artist – who pulls off this great caper,” says Zemeckis. “The caper is illegal, it’s dangerous, but it doesn’t hurt anybody. It seemed like something out of another time – you don’t really see stuff like that anymore. It was almost like a fable.”

Opening across the Philippines in October 14, “The Walk” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.